Rain and Fire

Chapter 1

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The demon stopped and examined his surroundings, making sure that no one else was following him. The infamous Youko Kurama, his worst enemy and bitter rival to the very end, was chasing him. The kitsune had a habit of doing that, and it bothered him.

His crimson red eyes scanned the other trees for Kuronue, Youko's partner. While not as violent and bloodthirsty as his friend, the bat youkai was a formidable foe, and he would rather not get into a fight with him.

He himself was Jaganshi Hiei, the son of a koorime and an unknown fire youkai. He wasn't a pushover himself, but he couldn't take the two of them on at once.

He jumped out of his hiding spot, fully intent of just making a run for it. It wasn't running away from battle, he told himself, it was just attempting to make the playing field a bit more even.

A friend of his, a inu youkai by the name of Sesshoumaru, lived nearby. He knew that if he could only reach his manor, he could get some help…

He snorted. Help…it was for the weak. A faded memory suddenly flashed through his mind. Had he said that to someone before…?

Suddenly, a scythe came out of almost nowhere, slicing him in the side. He growled, and picked up his speed.

Kuronue came out of the bushes behind him, and started to give chase.

He could faintly see the outline of Sesshoumaru's castle up ahead, and he prayed to whatever god that there might have been watching over a bastard soul like himself, that he would make it.

"Going somewhere, koorime?"

He stopped, and turned to face the source of the voice, who had a smirk on his face.

Youko Kurama…a powerful kitsune, and a thief. He was tall - he was probably around six and a half feet tall, with long silver hair, and fierce golden eyes. He had animalistic ears and a tail, both of which were darker silver in color. He always wore an all-white tunic, and today was no different.

Kuronue landed beside him, twitching one wing to get rid of a leaf that had clung to it. He was about the same height as his partner, with long black hair secured into a high ponytail, and dark violet eyes. He had two large black bat wings on his back, which enabled him to fly. He wore baggy black pants, a sleeveless black shirt, with a few black ribbons tying up his arms. He also had a torn hat on his head.

"Kurama, why do you care so much about killing this guy?" He asked, putting a hand on his hip and looking over at his partner.

"It's a long story." The fox replied. His golden gaze settled on Hiei. "Are you going to fight me or not?"

The reply was a snort, and it made him frown.

"What's the matter, Hiei? Too scared to fight me?"

Hiei took the opportunity to dive at him, katana drawn. It took the kitsune by surprise, and by the time he tried to dodge, it was too late. He clutched at his abdomen, where the wound had been inflicted, and winced.

The deep red life-source seeped out from behind his fingers, staining his once white robes to a crimson color.

Hiei smirked, and Kurama growled.

The kitsune slowly turned around, his wound already starting to heal.

"You bastard…" He growled. "I'll-"

Everyone stopped when the sound of the thundering of horse hooves assaulted their ears. They all looked over at the path that ran parallel to where they were standing.

About forty or so men - or to be more accurate, samurai - rode by on horses, and shouts of, "Find the girl!" were heard. They were checking bushes and stabbing them roughly with katanas and such, but the most reaction that was received from that were a few birds flying out.

Youko narrowed his golden eyes. "How dare those damn samurai enter my territory." He took one last glance at Hiei, and said, "Listen, koorime. You and I will finish this later. I have a different person to fight now."

Then, he and Kuronue dashed out to the warriors, and started demanding to know why they were there.

"Youko! We're looking for a girl. She escaped from my lord's estate, and it is of the utmost importance that we get her back." Said one samurai, who appeared to be the leader.

Hiei snorted, and decided to let the gingitsune do the talking. What did he care? It wasn't his territory.

He turned and started dashing towards Sesshoumaru's castle, fully intent of reaching it before the sun set - which he figured would be in about a half an hour.

The trees and bushes seemed like blurs as he went past, and the only sound he could hear was that of the leaves and branches whipping past him. And then, when he was at the border or the youko's territory, he heard something new…

The sound of whimpering…

He stopped, and looked around for the source of the noise. He didn't really care if it was some injured animal or something - he was merely curious.

He started walking towards a particularly large tree, and as he did, the sound got louder. He debated whether or not he should bother to see what was behind the greenery, and decided that it wouldn't hurt him to look.

He stepped through the bushes, and saw something that surprised him.

There was a small river. Which ran through both Youko Kurama's territory and Sesshoumaru's, and he had found it. There was also a girl sitting beside it, dipping her hands into the cool water and splashing it on her face. Her back was to him, and he could see that every sob was racking her small frame.

She had long, midnight black hair, which fell to her shoulder blades, and she wore a tattered, navy blue yukata, despite the fact that it was winter and she was probably freezing.

And he could also see darker spots on her yukata, where it seemed that blood was seeping through…

She suddenly spun around, falling back onto her rear. Her deep brown eyes seemed to widen in fear, and he saw that there were cuts on her face as well.

"S-Stay back!!" She exclaimed in a shaking voice.

He saw that she also had wounds on her stomach - it looked as though someone had cut her with a dagger of some kind.

He snorted. "I'd rather not come near a dirty little human like you anyways." He said. He turned, and started walking back towards the main path - he still wanted to make it to the castle before nightfall.

The girl didn't seem to protest his leaving, but she did gasp.

"You're…!"

He turned his head slightly. "What?"

"I-I remember you! I saw you when I was a little girl…" She said.

He turned and faced her fully. He let his eyes trail over her once more, but he didn't recognize her.

"I can't say the same." He turned, and started walking away again. He could hear the horses riding towards that place, and the girl seemed to too.

"Kami-sama…they're going to find me…" She said quietly.

She scrambled to her feet, only to double over again, coughing up some blood. Hiei sighed, and turned around once more.

Something told him that he couldn't just leave her there…and he knew he was going to regret his actions in the morning.

He picked the girl up bridal style, and she gave him a confused look. "What are you-"

He took off at full speed, and she threw her arms around his neck in fear.

He could hear the shouts of the samurai behind him, and he knew that they knew he had the girl.

He crossed the border into Sesshoumaru's territory, which he knew the samurai wouldn't dare to cross. That is, not unless they were willing to die to get the girl back…

He continued towards the castle, and they made it there in less then ten minutes.

By that time, the girl had already fainted from blood loss, and he shifted her slightly when he approached the door. A guard was there - he couldn't quite remember what the little toad demon's name was, but he knew that it wasn't important.

"Hiei-sama!" He exclaimed, scurrying over to them. "Are you here to see Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Hiei nodded, and the toad demon scurried to the door, opening it for him.

He stepped inside, and the ugly youkai started leading him down the hall.

"It's been a while since you've come to visit, Hiei-sama." He said. "I'm sure that my Lord will be very pleased to see you."

Hiei didn't say anything. Truthfully, he didn't like the toad demon, and his jabbering gave him a headache. But luckily for him, Sesshoumaru wasn't very far away.

The inu youkai that owned the territory - and was also the Lord of the Western Lands - was walking down the hall, and stopped when he saw the koorime and the girl in his arms.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" The toad exclaimed, giving a bow.

"Leave now, Jaken." He said in a cool, calm voice.

The toad youkai gave a bow, and did as he was told.

Sesshoumaru was a tall youkai, with long, silver hair that fell to his ankles. He had golden eyes, like Youko, only his were devoid of all emotion. He had a dark blue crescent moon n his forehead, and two light purple stripes on either side of his face. He wore a complex outfit, which consisted of a white kimono top with baggy white pants, and armor over those. A yellow sash tied around his waist.

The youkai lord didn't even crack a smile at his old friend, and Hiei didn't either.

"Come. There's a room in the back where her wounds will be taken care of." He said, starting to walk down the hall again.

Hiei followed him, and said, "I found her out in the woods, at the border of your territory. It looked like Yakumo's men."

"I wonder if that was the girl that he lost the other day." The silver-haired man mused. "It would be interesting if we were dragged into the whole mess that Yakumo drug up."

"What mess? I haven't heard about Yakumo since he attempted to get the hanyou Naraku to join sides with him to kill your brother."

Sesshoumaru stopped, and opened a door. He looked back at Hiei. "You can set her down on the futon in there. Rin will take care of her."

Hiei nodded, and entered the room, putting the girl down on the indicated futon. The room was devoid of any furniture other than the bed, and a sliding door on the other side that seemed to lead out to the other hall. Or perhaps a bathroom - he wasn't sure which.

He then stood, and frowned at the amount of blood on his shirt.

"If you want, you can take a bath in the hot spring. We can talk later." Sesshoumaru suggested.

"I think I will." Hiei replied. He followed Sesshoumaru out of the room, and was shown to the hot spring.

"When you're finished, I'll be in the room on the other end of the hall." The inu youkai said.

"Fine." Was the reply. He left, and Hiei sighed.

What had he gotten himself into this time…?

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Author's Notes : Yay! Now we've got some Sesshoumaru goodness in there!! Woohoo!!

Did anyone else notice that this chapter was full of bishounen goodness? I mean, there was Hiei, and Youko, and Kuronue, and Sesshoumaru! Talk about yummy!!

Um, so, any requests of characters that you want to make an appearance? So far, I've planned on Koga making an appearance, and I'd like to know if there are any other characters (from Yu Yu Hakusho or Inu-Yasha) that you'd like to see in this fic at some point. I'm not promising any major roles, but just a small part...

Thanks to those who reviewed. I hope this story is as good as Kokoro No Kaitou!!

Seiyo-san : Aww! But Hiei wouldn't be Hiei without the meaness. And… o.O You knocked him out with a frying pan?! Poor Hiei…LOL.

DarkVixenNisha : He is mean, but you're right - it only makes things more interesting.

Kagome0102 : Yeah, it was supposed to be kind of like their first meeting, because I couldn't think of any other way that she could 'help' him. And Rin should be in the next chapter. I just love her! She's so kawaii!! huggles Rin

Hieisbestbuddy888 : I'm glad that you do!!

Coodle : I'm glad that you are so enthusiastic about the story!

Mala Darkling : Yup, it was. As stated in this chapter, he and Hiei are enemies. Youko Kurama is one of my favorite characters, though.

crimson7319 : Are you more of a Hiei fan than a Kurama fan? My friend LuckyKoorime is too.

Mah : Glad you thought so!

miyako14 : See, you're lucky! You get to find out what happens before it ever does!! LOL!

FluffysBijin05 : Um, what? When I said to guess, I meant to guess who the boy was. The little girl is an OC named Rain.

Chibi Lady : [grins] I'm really glad that you like the stories that I write.

DarkShadowHiei : Interesting? Thanks!!

GRRR!! I REALLY HATE THIS NEW "QUICKEDIT" THING! IT WON'T LET ME DO ANYTHING!!!!!!!